How to Start an Online Store without Inventory – The Dropship Model

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Finding a Dropshipping Supplier

You can find dropshipping suppliers on your own by doing a bit of research online. However, it is a tedious process.

Many dropshipping suppliers may not have a large enough variety of products that you want to sell. Therefore, you would need to find multiple suppliers.

Some suppliers also have specific requirements and fees. For example, some may not want to deal with new businesses and some charge fees for each product you sell.

Why Many Dropshippers Use AliExpress for Sourcing Products

The good news is that you can bypass all of the hassles of locating dropshipping suppliers yourself.

Many dropshippers utilize AliExpress as their dropshipping supplier. There are many benefits to using this particular website.

AliExpress is one of the largest online retailers in the world. They are made up of merchants primarily based in China.

They offer a wide variety of products, so finding products to sell within your niche shouldn’t be a problem.

Many of the merchants offer free shipping as well as ePacket shipping (a faster shipping method that ships from China.)

Most merchants do not require bulk ordering which is ideal for dropshippers since you’ll only order items individually as your customers buy from your store.

Here are more benefits of using AliExpress:

200,000 exporters

Over 100 million items

No entry or participation fees

No limits on your profit margins

No limits on the amount of products you sell

Works with individuals and registered companies

Free shipping on most items

Ships to over 200 countries worldwide

Online shipping tracking

Wide range of shipping methods

Buyer protection system with full money back guarantee

Get Your Own Custom Dropshipping Store in a Matter of Days
AliDropship offers a turnkey custom dropshipping store service. They handle all of the details of building your store from A to Z (including niche selection.) You are also assigned a personal manager that guides you through the process every step of the way. Click here for details.

How to Open Your Own Dropshipping Store

Dropshipping begins by figuring out what it is you want to sell. The first step is figuring out the niche you want to be in.

Once you know what you want to sell, you can then register a domain name related to your niche. I buy my domains from NameCheap.com.

The next step is to get web hosting and connect your domain name to your hosting account. Many hosting providers will register your domain name for free as a new customer.

SiteGround is one such web hosting provider that I use and that will provide one year free domain registration for new customers.

Choosing a Dropshipping eCommerce Platform

Now comes the part where you must choose a dropshipping eCommerce platform. A popular option is to use Shopify and the Oberlo app.

However, there are some downsides to choosing this option. For one, you lose complete ownership of your store.

Let’s say you open a store on their platform. You must also abide by their terms of use.

Although you may not go against their terms of use, they have the power to close your store at any time.

Another thing to consider is the monthly fees to use the platform as well as the monthly fees related to the apps to create a dropshipping store.